A. O. SmithReviews of aosmith.com

$1500 Hybrid Water Heater. Less than 2 years old. Compressor failure requires heater replacement and costs me $1200 for labor. Would never buy another AO Smith unit!

Product: A. O. Smith P7 Water Purifier I strongly do not recommend the A. O. Smith P7, for two fundamental design and policy reasons that completely undermine the idea of “safe drinking water.” 1) Unsealed internal water reservoir — insects can access your drinking water The P7 has an internal reservoir that stores already-filtered water before dispensing. Shockingly, this reservoir is not sealed. In my case, ants were able to enter the reservoir, and I only discovered this after finding dead ants and ant parts in my drinking water. This alone should be a deal-breaker for any product that claims to provide safe water for your family. A water purifier must be sealed by design. Allowing insects into filtered drinking water is not a minor flaw — it is a basic hygiene failure. When I contacted the reseller / A. O. Smith about this, the response was essentially: don’t place the machine near food. That is a completely unrealistic and frankly ridiculous suggestion. This is a water machine designed for kitchens. Kitchens contain food. That is not a user error — it is a design flaw. In the end, I had to seal parts of the machine myself with tape, hoping the water was no longer contaminated. That should never be necessary with a premium water purifier. 2) Forced filter replacement via software lockout The second major issue is the filter replacement policy. The P7 requires filter changes every 12 months. After 12 months, the machine starts warning you — fine so far. However, if you do not replace the filters within about one additional month, the machine is programmed to completely stop dispensing water. You are forcibly locked out of using the machine, regardless of actual filter condition, financial situation, or personal choice. This behavior was not clearly communicated upfront and is unacceptable. A company should inform users — not hold their water supply hostage via software. Conclusion Between the unsealed water reservoir that allowed insects into my drinking water and the forced shutdown if you don’t buy replacement filters on their schedule, I consider this product fundamentally flawed. I would strongly advise against buying the A. O. Smith P7. If you care about hygiene, transparency, and basic consumer respect, look elsewhere.

I had this water heater installed by my professional licensed plumber about 14 months ago. His work was great, the water heater has given me so much trouble. Had to have the valve replaced after 2 months. Pilot light went out, they blamed it in the wind. I get major anxiety every time we get heavy winds. Now we saw a leak, had to replace 2 parts. This plumber informed me it’s only a problem with this company! The filter on the bottom is the problem, they need to fix this! After spending $2,500 on a new heater it just cost me $450!

I have a signature 900 heat pump water heater I just purchased. So far the experience has been less than stellar. Out of the box my heater was defective, I am a technical person so I was able to take it apart and repair it myself. I tried to go through the company first and they have poor quality control and even worse support. My tank threw an error 81, a condensate issue. I first called it in and the support was horrible and the tech person did not know about the product and started making things up and lying to me to get me off the phone. My setup is I have a drain I run a hose to for my condensate(i.e. no optional pump) with error 81 it was obvious that the condensate float switch was bad or not plugged in. The Tech told me I needed to run it off the electric heating elements to "make condensate" for 2-3 days and the problem would fix itself, he also said that it is required to run it off of the heating elements on a new install. None of that is true, the heating elements will never make condensate, and the manual does not say to run it of the heating elements. When I pushed back and questioned the tech he talked down to me and patronized me. Support like that should be fired. Anyway I started to disassemble my heater and pulled the wires to the switch to test and saw it was open so I opened the lid and inspected... There was garbage inside including bits of foam and clipped ends of zip ties sitting in the drain pan. So I removed all the garbage and cleaned to free up the float switch, and then it was able to complete the circuit. I reassembled and my heater has been working since. It is a shame that the quality of the employees is so bad with little to no quality control and completely incompetent support.

I purchased a water heater from AO Smith yesterday and had an unacceptable experience trying to register and complete the warranty process for it. I'm technically savvy but found their online warranty registration process to be user-hostile, cumbersome (intentionally designed this way?), and more confusing than doing my taxes returns. No matter what correct information I input, I got continual error messages. Unable to complete the verification online, I phoned their customer service and spoke with an agent asking if she would walk me through the online process. Instead, she asked me some questions regarding the unit model and serial number and announced that she had completed the warranty registration herself for me. I said great, please email or snail mail the confirmation of my warranty to me - and she said no, we don't do that if you register by phone. I insisted - hey, I just bought their hot water heater with a 9 year warranty for peets sake and I need some kind of written confirmation that the warranty is in effect. She gave me a case number to use instead of a written confirmation, I said, so I'm supposed to remember a case number for 9 years?? What recourse would I have if my water heater needs to be repaired in 8 years and AO Smith insists that my case number is invalid? She kept saying,don't worry, it will be valid. I spent $2500 for their water heater and paid an extra $400 for the 9 year warranty and they refuse to confirm my warranty in writing?? This is a shoddy business practice. I feel cheated, fooled and manipulated by AO Smith. I bought their 9 year warranty for peace of mind, to protect myself financially in case of repairs. Now I feel totally fleeced instead, and angry. This is no way to treat a customer. In the future, instead of recommending AO Smith to others via of word of mouth, I will warn potential customers against buying products from AO Smith. AO Smith - your customers deserve written confirmations of warranty purchases in writing. NOT a case number!

what heater 50 gl 3 years old gas valve goes out then 2 months later gas valve again goes out and the thermopile needed to be replaced and burner needed to be cleaned

Gas water heater parts don't last. Very poor reviews on Loews, wish I had seen them prior to mine being installed 7 years ago. The entire digital water temperature sensor has to replaced at a cost/unit age factor that doesn't make sense. So, we have to buy a new one. The company wins no matter what I do, but at my loss. Very disappointed in a formerly good company.